LITTER bugs face on-the-spot £50 fines in a new campaign to clean up a town's streets.

Twenty newly-appointed litter wardens have been unveiled in Wigan for the ''Kick Litter Into Touch'' drive.

At the launch, local sports heroes Paul Rowley, from Leigh Centurions RLFC, and Wigan Athletic footballer Matt Jackson both said they hope the campaign would lead to far less litter on Wigan's streets.

Matt, an FA Cup winner with Everton in 1995, said: ''The campaign is all about getting the message out to people in the community that we want them to put their litter in the bin.

''We all want Wigan to look as nice as possible, so it can make a good impression.

''It all comes down to laziness - with people not being bothered to get rid of their litter properly. This campaign is all about pointing out to people that littering is no good for Wigan.

''Litter is a particular bug-bear of mine and I just hope that we will now see less of it.''

Wigan council's 20 litter wardens have been appointed from staff, whose jobs already take them out on to the streets. Highways officers and park wardens are just some of those being issued with special ID cards which they will produce when confronting litter louts.

From April 1, anyone over the age of 10 caught dropping litter could face a fine under the 1990 Environment Protection Act.

But Wigan has decided that anyone aged between 10 and 17 caught littering for the first time will only receive a formal caution.

Last year, it was estimated that litter bugs cost the country £330m a year in clean-up costs.

Other authorities, such as Rochdale and Manchester city councils, have tried out similar schemes to the one starting in Wigan.

Anyone caught littering in Wigan who refuses to pay their fine could end up going before magistrates and being ordered to pay up to £2,500.

Wigan council is now starting a high-profile publicity campaign to let people know that, from April 1, dropping litter could cost them money. The campaign is being supported by the Keep Britain Tidy group.

The organisation's regional director, Jo Whitaker, said she hoped that the warden scheme would mean a continuous, highly-visible reminder to people not to drop litter.

She said: ''The council has a part to play in educating people that dropping litter is not only against the law, but is anti-social.

''But the people of Wigan have a more important part to play - if they did not drop litter, the council could put the money they use on cleaning up into other schemes to make the borough a more pleasant and desirable place to live, work and play.''

Coun Brian Strett, who joined the sports stars at the launch, said: ''This new initiative shows that Wigan council will take action against people who persistently drop litter.

''The council picks up tonnes of litter every week.

''It is clearly a problem and the more people are encouraged not to drop litter the better it is for all of us.''